Fun Walk Poster Created by West Horndon Preschool
Last month the Trustees of The Fun Walk Trust opened registration for the 2025 Fun Walk which allows local charities and community groups to complete a sponsored walk in September and benefit from a BONUS POT supported by donations from local businesses and individuals.
Despite it being early days, so far nearly 40 organisations have registered, while the Bonus Pot has reached over £22,000 and there is hope it will exceed last year’s figure.
John Baron, Chair of Trustees, said:
“Our thanks go to our generous Bonus Pot donors who so far include Sanctuary Housing, The Human Kind Café (Billericay), Tunnelcraft, Butyl Products Group, Mr Barrie Stone and other individuals. Their donations totalling £22,000 provide a powerful incentive for local charities and community groups to join this year’s event and raise money for their deserving causes. Last year, the bonus pot added 30% to all monies raised by participants, and this was on top of any Gift Aid claimed.”
“The Fun Walk was established in 2002 to benefit local charities and community groups, and we are delighted to see so many organisations planning to return for this year’s walk. We also welcome new charities such as ‘Feeding the Family’, ‘Friends and Places Together’, ‘Kool Carers South East’ and ‘Service Dogs UK’ who will be taking part for first time this year. Please come join us if you have a charity or local non-profit community group that could benefit from some extra funding”
Organisations are encouraged to register at https://thefunwalktrust.co.uk/
About the Fun Walk:
John Baron and his team started the Fun Walk in 2002 to commemorate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and raised £6,000 for six charities and projects. The event was very successful and so became an annual one which continues to grow.
To assist with its growth, in 2013 the Fun Walk became a registered Charity, and it is now officially known as The Fun Walk Trust (Registered Charity number: 1151626). In 2019, Basildon Billericay and Wickford CVS was appointed to administer the event on behalf of the Trustees.
John continues his role with the charity as Chair of the Trustees and by soliciting support and sponsorship from local businesses. The BONUS POT is a unique feature of the event, into which local businesses and individuals kindly donate, and which is then distributed to participating organisations on a pro rata basis in addition to the monies they themselves raise in sponsorship. In 2024, the bonus pot added 30% to all monies raised by participants.
The 2024 event raised £100,953 for local charities and community groups, and brought the total money raised since the Fun Walk’s inception to over £1,635,000.
The Fun Walk Trust organises the walk and takes care of the paperwork, leaving the projects free to focus on raising sponsorship money and enjoying the event. The event is not confined to charities: any good cause or project may join once approved by the Trust. For example, many pre-schools and schools, churches and community groups now regularly participate.
In 2020, given the challenges presented by COVID-19 and the recognition that our local charities and good causes needed help more than ever, the decision was made to switch to a different format, allowing supporters the flexibility to walk the distance anytime during September (and not all having to gather on a specific date). This proved to be very successful and will be continued for the foreseeable future.
